


no time

by WonderTwinC



Series: there is no goodbye [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 17:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5594944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonderTwinC/pseuds/WonderTwinC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were supposed to have tonight, at least, before the city came closing in around them. [alternate universe/canon divergence 4x09.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	no time

Tonight was supposed to be happy.

Tonight was supposed to be Laurel and her soon to be wife riding off in a limo she’d paid out the ass to rent after giving an uplifting speech to Star City. There was supposed to be sparkling apple cider and those lemon tarts that Felicity loved and them on the couch with a fire warming the room as they told each other how they felt with a million different words and touches.

They were supposed to have tonight, at least, before the city came closing in around them.

Instead they’d just had a few moments of quiet in the back of the car while Felicity admired the ring and Laurel coaxed her into a handful of dizzying kisses, unable to stop smiling for anything as the limo took them down the familiar road that lead to home.

“You like the ring,” Laurel muttered, smiling as she pressed a slow, careful kiss to Felicity’s jaw. The blonde laughed, gentle and soft as she tilted Laurel’s head up to give her a real kiss, finding her hand and lacing their fingers together.

“I like the ring,” she confirmed, voice slightly husky as she stared at Laurel’s face, “but I love you.”

“Say that again.” Laurel tangled her free hand in the back of Felicity’s ponytail, curling her fingers against her fiancée’s scalp.

Felicity smiled against her lips. “I love you, Dinah Laurel Lance.”

Laurel hummed low in her throat, squeezing Felicity’s fingers as coaxed her into another deep, dizzying kiss. She was so caught up in Felicity, in the warmth of her touch and the press of their lips, that she didn’t realize the limo was coming to a full stop until she heard the driver engage the break.

Felicity butted her forehead gently against Laurel’s as she inhaled, trying to steady the sound of her voice, “Why are we stopping?”

Dazed and distracted, Laurel turned her head to look out the side of the car, brow furrowing at the sight of an unmarked SUV. The same sight greeted her when she looked out of the back window, another large SUV sitting under the street light.

It wasn’t until she noticed the third SUV directly ahead of them that she untangled her fingers from Felicity’s hair.

A sense of dread settled in her gut as she looked out the windows again. The familiar flight or fight response she felt whenever she suited up as the Black Canary thrashed around under her skin until she felt like she was vibrating in anticipation - in fear. Time slowed down for just a moment as Laurel glanced over at Felicity, seeing confusion and the beginnings of panic blossom over the blonde features.

The sound of multiple doors opening drew Laurel’s attention back to the windows. For two ticks of a second her fight or flight response was so strong that it became overwhelming. The fog cleared and what she was seeing registered with her brain.

Then the world fell out from beneath their feet all at once.

“Felicity-” Laurel pulled the other woman tight against her chest as she rolled, pressing her down against the seat as the first shots were fired. The sound was deafening inside the limo, drowning out the christmas music and making Laurel’s ears ring as she shielded Felicity between her body and the seat, pressing down as hard as she could in an attempt to keep the other woman covered almost entirely with her own body.

The ring on Felicity’s hand bit uncomfortably against Laurel’s palm as she kept Felicity’s arms pinned, listening for some kind of break between the bullets. The driver was dead and she didn’t have her gear and the urge to panic was so overwhelming, but Laurel knew what she had to do.

She had to protect Felicity.

That’s all she ever had to do.

“Stay down!” she almost had to scream the words to make sure Felicity could hear her above the rain of gunfire, but the small nod against her chest was enough. Laurel counted to three in her head before she tried a move she was sure Oliver would be proud of, launching herself over the barrier between the back of the limo and the driver’s seat, scrambling to push the dead body out of her way at the same time. She flinched when a bullet hit next to her leg, burying itself in the console as she crammed her body in the front seat disengaged the parking brake with a trembling hand.

She floored the gas.

The tires squealed against the pavement as the limo jerked forward and Laurel braced herself, resisting the urge to squeeze her eyes shut as the car hit the railing and struggled over it, almost catching before it broke free and all four tires slammed back down against the road, bouncing the vehicle violently. Laurel wanted to pound her hands against the car in relief as it shouldered the burden, driving away from the scene and leaving the GHOSTS behind them.

The roaring in her ears quietened somewhat as she drove, hysterical laughter bubbling uncomfortably in her chest as the panic rose and then silenced itself. She swallowed it down, casting a glance at the shattered rearview mirror. “We’re in the clear.”

She didn’t let up on the gas until she was certain they weren’t being followed, that they were far enough away from the danger. Her heart was thundering in her chest as she brought the limo to a slow stop, tripping over herself as she climbed out into the cool night air. Laurel took one deep breath and then another, stumbling around to the back of the limo, somewhat disoriented.

They were okay. They were okay. They were oka- she jerked the back door open and all the words died in her throat as she took in her fiancée, lifeless and bloodsoaked in the back where she’d left her.

“Oh god, Felicitiy-” Laurel hauled her from the back of their limo on shaking legs, all but collapsing to the ground with the blonde cradled to her chest with one arm looped around her shoulders. Laurel’s fingers shook as her eyes took in the damage - the single bullet hole in the coat that she’d bought Felicity for her birthday, the blood smeared against her jaw and cheek from where she was bleeding at the mouth.

Laurel touched trembling fingers against Felicity’s throat, feeling her heart constrict at the barest sign of a pulse that she felt beneath the skin. She couldn’t lose Felicity. She just - couldn’t.

“Stay with me, Felicity, okay?” Laurel cupped Felicity’s cheek, tilting her head until she could see her face clearly. “You’ve gotta stay with me,” she whispered, pressing her forehead to Felicity’s as her tears mixed with the blood that was now on both of their faces.

For the second time that night, time stood still.


End file.
